Adventures in sport and film making

Finally, my first ABC Open project complete; first video, first advance into the world of technology.

The time has come, I’ve decided, to
take my place as a tech savvy member of Generation Y.

If I came to this decision a little
begrudgingly at first, after completing the 110% project I can't wait to learn
more.

I am someone who loves people,
human nature, finding the elements that connect us and the sentiments that
drive us. Film is a way of capturing these things; bringing them together and
creating magic for viewers and for the subjects themselves.

The two incredible women I chose to
base my film on, Jan Leverton and Kim Beckinsale, define the saying ‘live life
to the maximum’. Hence my major problem was not what to film, but how to cut
down all the brilliant content, zest for life, witty euphemisms and special
moments I captured on camera with the pair.

After some careful thought about how
I wanted my storyboard to look, I began by interviewing Jan and Kim down at
their local training ground, both kitted out in their adventure racing gear.

With the Noosa River as a backdrop,
and the lighting absolutely magnificent in the late afternoon (what I now know
is called ‘the golden hour’ for filming), I filmed them getting ready for
training, tying shoelaces, strapping on water packs, adjusting head lights -
all the nitty-gritty stuff that captures the essence of what they do.

All this may have fallen by the
wayside were it not for the tutelage of amazing ABC Open producer Jo Joyce who
taught me how to hold the camera steady, look for interesting angles, and fight
the urge to move the camera for the next shot too quickly.

As a result I ended up with some
amazing footage. My favourite was the girls’ feet running along the riverbank,
while afternoon sunlight streamed directly into the camera lens… absolutely
magical.

It took a
second session to get all the content I needed. Jan strapped an action camera
to her head as they hit the water in kayaks and we got some quick shots of them
on the mountain bikes before heading to a local café to capture why they put in
all the hard effort: so they can sit back and enjoy the reward.

I found
being a part of the whole process and gaining an insight into their daily life
was a bit inspiring in itself. Life should be lived to its fullest. Why not?

The editing process took me what
seemed like a millennia, only because I was very new at it, learning solo and
using iMovie, a new program for me. It took me a whole day, but by the end of
it I was super proud of the product I had produced and now I can say I am
confident with iMovie.

Was it worth it?

You bet.

Not only have I acquired skills that
are crucial in today’s journalism industry, as a young journalist, I now have a new vehicle
through which I can tell stories, relate to people and capture the magic of
human nature.